Following the versatile defensive back’s Week 2 absence due to a quadriceps injury, Jacksonville defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen is looking forward to having starting safety Darnell Savage Jr. back on game day.
Savage, who signed a three-year, $21.8 million free-agent deal with the Jaguars in March, experienced his injury in practice last Thursday, leading him to be ruled out against the Browns on Friday. He returned to practice in a limited fashion this week.
“Having him back, now we’ve got another guy out there who’s a good player and allows some other guys to free up in personnel packages and do things like that,” Nielsen explained on Friday.
“So, we never want to lose a guy for a game or two games or whatever it is, but happy to have him back and get him back into the role and routine of playing football and we’ll see him out there on Monday.”
Nielsen’s comment follows that of Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson, who on Thursday expressed that “hopefully” Savage will be available for Jacksonville’s Week 3, Monday Night Football matchup with Buffalo.
Although his sample size in the Jaguars’ defensive scheme is limited to one game, Savage has already emerged as a valuable, multi-positional contributor under Nielsen.
Savage logged snaps at four different defensive positions in various alignments during Week 1 against Miami: 25 as a slot cornerback, 11 as a free safety, 11 as a box safety and two as an outside linebacker.
Savaged recorded two defended passes and, according to Pro Football Focus, allowed two receptions over five targets for four yards against the Dolphins.
While he is eager to see Savage back in action, Nielsen commended rookie Jaguars cornerback Jarrian Jones for his performance in place of the starter against the Browns. Jones took the field for 57 snaps defensively in Week 2, exclusively as a slot corner.
“You always want to have good players, and he’s a good player. But last week didn’t feel like — you know, next man up, and Jarrian went out there and he performed pretty well,” Nielsen said. “As well as the group, thought we covered really well last week.”
Although Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson completed 64.7% of his passes against Jacksonville in Week 2, the Jaguars limited the quarterback to 186 passing yards with no touchdowns scored through the air.
Jones, the Jaguars’ third-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft, allowed three receptions over four targets for 26 yards to Browns pass-catchers, per PFF.